MrCleveland
08-19-2014, 01:15 PM
From cleveland.com
LANDOVER, Md. -- With the Browns starting quarterback job on the line and the whole world watching, Johnny Manziel's biggest moment wasn't a pass but a flip, and it wasn't a ball but a bird.
Yes, he went there.
For all the world to see, Manziel raised his middle finger to the Redskins' bench after an incompletion with 2:28 left in the third quarter of Monday night's 24-23 loss to Washington.
It was a sign of immaturity, and it rankled coach Mike Pettine, who's supposed to sit down on Tuesday and decide if Manziel is ready to be the starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns.
"It does not sit well,'' said Pettine. "I was informed of it after the game. It's disappointing, because what we talk about is being poised and being focused, that you have to be able to maintain your poise.
"That's a big part of all football players, especially the quarterback. We have to keep our composure. That's something we'll obviously address.''
Manziel, who stands to be fined up to $11,025 for the gesture according to ESPN, kept his cool through plenty of trash talk from fans and some Redskins the rest of the game.
"Yeah, that's why I was surprised when I heard about it,'' said Pettine. "Other than that I thought he was composed.''
Pettine indicated that the move wouldn't cost Manziel a chance to start in Pittsburgh Sept. 7.
"It's whoever gives us the best chance to win the opener will be the starter,'' he said.
Manziel acknowledged that he shouldn't have done it.
"I just need to let it slide off my back and go to the next play,'' he said. "I felt like I did a good job of holding my composure throughout the night and you have a lapse of judgment and slip up."
Manziel, who winced when informed by a member of the PR staff that the gesture was captured by the ESPN cameras. Several of the Redskins, including linebacker Brian Orakpo, had been trying to rattle Manziel the whole game.
"I get words exchanged with me throughout the entirety of the game, every game, week after week,'' he said. "I should've been smarter. It was a Monday Night Football game. The cameras were probably solidly on me, so I just need to be smarter about that."
What provoked it?
"There's always words exchanged on the football field,'' he said.
He said he doesn't immediately kick himself when he loses his cool, and that it's not a distraction when it happens. He went on to throw a touchdown pass at the end of that 16-play drive.
"It's not a distraction at all,'' he said. "It's not a big deal to me. I think I need to hold my composure better."
He wasn't sure if he'd be fined. "I don't know how this works,'' he said.
Asked if the bird or being late to a team meeting last Monday might prevent him from winning the job, he said, "No, no, no, no."
Is it me or is it that Johnny Manziel may be overrated?
LANDOVER, Md. -- With the Browns starting quarterback job on the line and the whole world watching, Johnny Manziel's biggest moment wasn't a pass but a flip, and it wasn't a ball but a bird.
Yes, he went there.
For all the world to see, Manziel raised his middle finger to the Redskins' bench after an incompletion with 2:28 left in the third quarter of Monday night's 24-23 loss to Washington.
It was a sign of immaturity, and it rankled coach Mike Pettine, who's supposed to sit down on Tuesday and decide if Manziel is ready to be the starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns.
"It does not sit well,'' said Pettine. "I was informed of it after the game. It's disappointing, because what we talk about is being poised and being focused, that you have to be able to maintain your poise.
"That's a big part of all football players, especially the quarterback. We have to keep our composure. That's something we'll obviously address.''
Manziel, who stands to be fined up to $11,025 for the gesture according to ESPN, kept his cool through plenty of trash talk from fans and some Redskins the rest of the game.
"Yeah, that's why I was surprised when I heard about it,'' said Pettine. "Other than that I thought he was composed.''
Pettine indicated that the move wouldn't cost Manziel a chance to start in Pittsburgh Sept. 7.
"It's whoever gives us the best chance to win the opener will be the starter,'' he said.
Manziel acknowledged that he shouldn't have done it.
"I just need to let it slide off my back and go to the next play,'' he said. "I felt like I did a good job of holding my composure throughout the night and you have a lapse of judgment and slip up."
Manziel, who winced when informed by a member of the PR staff that the gesture was captured by the ESPN cameras. Several of the Redskins, including linebacker Brian Orakpo, had been trying to rattle Manziel the whole game.
"I get words exchanged with me throughout the entirety of the game, every game, week after week,'' he said. "I should've been smarter. It was a Monday Night Football game. The cameras were probably solidly on me, so I just need to be smarter about that."
What provoked it?
"There's always words exchanged on the football field,'' he said.
He said he doesn't immediately kick himself when he loses his cool, and that it's not a distraction when it happens. He went on to throw a touchdown pass at the end of that 16-play drive.
"It's not a distraction at all,'' he said. "It's not a big deal to me. I think I need to hold my composure better."
He wasn't sure if he'd be fined. "I don't know how this works,'' he said.
Asked if the bird or being late to a team meeting last Monday might prevent him from winning the job, he said, "No, no, no, no."
Is it me or is it that Johnny Manziel may be overrated?